Field of Glory II: Medieval - New Patch (v. 1.2.5)

[Mantuvec]

A new patch (v 1.2.5) for Field of Glory II: Medieval has been released, here's what's new:

[If AutoUpdate does not work, you can download the patch for the Slitherine version directly from here]

UI:

• Dismountable units now show “(D)” in the “tooltip” in Army List Preview and Force Selection.
• Units that can form square now display “Can form square” in unit UI, detailed (CTRL-L click) unit information, Force Selection and Campaign Army Review.

Random Maps:

• Added Plains map type for North Europe, Mediterranean, Middle East, Frozen and Tropical regions. Plains maps are not completely featureless open terrain, but are a lot more open than many Agricultural maps, with no hills or marshes and fewer areas of woods or rough going.
• Plains have been added to the Pot Luck terrain selection as a relatively uncommon selection. (Bearing in mind that many “Agricultural” maps are also mostly open terrain.)

Gameplay:

• ZOCs and Permitted Charges: A unit that is in the primary ZOC of one or more enemy units could already charge any of those within a 45 degree arc of the unit’s front. It can now also charge an enemy unit in the square directly to its front if it is in that unit's secondary ZOC. This is intended to remove the deliberate or inadvertent contact-delaying effect of each unit in a line of units turning to face diagonally.

Custom Battles – new Ambush scenarios:

• Ambush (Own):
  - Ambush is by Side A (player). 50-70% of their units are sent on a flank march, which arrives at the start of Side A’s second turn.
  - Points balancing adjustment for Ambush (Own) scenario is 15% reduction in Side A forces compared with Open Battle.
  - In Multiplayer and Hot Seat Ambush battles forces are Autoselected and only side A gets a Deployment phase. This is to minimise the opportunity for the Side B player to re-arrange his troops in advance to counter the flank march.
• Ambush (Enemy):
  - Ambush is by Side B (AI or Player B). 50-70% of their units are sent on a flank march, which arrives at the start of Side B’s first turn.
  - Points balancing adjustment for Ambush (Enemy) scenario is the same as Open Battle.
  - Forces are Autoselected and Autodeployed and neither side gets a Deployment phase. This is to minimise the opportunity for the Side A player to re-arrange his troops in advance to counter the flank march.
• All units in ambushed army take a cohesion test when the ambush arrives. This includes the possibility of double drops.
• Ambushes use Narrow maps. This seems to work even with large armies. To prevent Flank March from being blocked by mountains in Ambush scenarios, the random map generator automatically converts Mountainous terrain to Hilly in Ambush scenarios.
• Ambush flank march gets 2 sub-generals, both of which can command any units in the flank march. The remaining generals are assigned to the on-map part of the army.
• Ambushes (Own) can be one of the options in Sandbox Campaigns. Ambushes (Enemy) will probably be added to Sandbox Campaigns in a future update.

Units:

• Standard Wagon changes:
  
  - Standard Wagon guards reduced to 480 men (600 UnitSize) and Above Average quality (in view of built-in +1 CT modifier – see below).
  - Cost reduced to 54 points.
  - Rout % multiplier for Standard Wagons increased to 4, so that they have the same effect on rout % as 4 standard-sized heavy infantry units. (Previously it was 3.75)
  - In addition to their effect on rout % calculations, Standard Wagons (as long as they are facing the right way and not too far from the main action) now also give a +1 Cohesion Test modifier to friendly units on adjacent squares. This modifier also applies to the Standard Wagon itself, hence the reduction in troop Quality.
• Cost of Superior Protected Heavy Foot Offensive Spearmen increased. Above Average increased proportionately.
  - Veteran Muslim Spearmen raised from 51 to 57.
  - Dismounted Cavalry (in pre-1200 Polish lists) raised from 45 to 48
  - Dismounted Lancers (Time Warp) raised from 45 to 48
  - Veteran Hoplites (Time Warp) raised from 57 to 60. Note that they should have been 54 before, rather than 57.
• Irish Foot and Picked Irish Foot units are assumed to contain a mixture of men with various combinations of heavy axes, spears, javelins, swords and shields. As such they have been upgraded to Lightly Protected. They continue to be rated as Heavy Weapon, representing the overall effect of the combination. Taking into account the excessive cost-effectiveness of heavy weapon for lightly protected troops (as demonstrated by overperformance of Irish armies in tournaments), points cost increased to 42 and 54 respectively.
• Reduced cost of longbows for Bowmen units without close combat capability. Welsh longbowmen cost reduced from 42 to 39.

Army Lists:

• Andalusian allies added to Aragonese 1050-1136 list.
• Reduced proportion of Irish Foot rated as Heavy Weapon in Irish armies.
• Removed archers from the earlier Irish lists. They are still present in the 1131-1259 list because there was some adoption of bows by the Irish after the Anglo-Norman invasion.
• We aware that there are duplicate versions of the Pecheneg and Ghaznavid lists in Time Warp, as the same list appears in FOG2 Ancients and FOG2 Medieval. However, removing them could mess up ongoing campaigns or MP challenges, so we have left them in.

AI:

• Improved AI for mounted knights. Now more likely to head forwards towards enemy infantry and charge them, instead of veering off to attack enemy mounted.

Multiplayer:

• Pause button added for replay.

Custom Campaign design:

• Custom Campaigns can include Ambush (Own). Ambush (Enemy) will probably be added in a future update.
• Latest version of CustomCampaignTemplate.txt, with up to date notes on Custom Campaign design, added to main game directory.

Lighting:

• Added several additional variant lighting files for use in Editor-created scenarios.

Engine Tweaks:

• FPS reduces when unfocused and more when minimised. (Should be disabled when either AI turn or MP replay).
• Slightly tighter camera logic when trying to show a given unit etc.

Bug Fixes:

• Hopefully fixed the occasional issue of interference by synching software corrupting MP game files, with loss of height data from the map. This version uses a different location for temporary files when saving or loading SP and MP games. This location (<appdatalocal>/temp, or if that does not exist <appdatalocal>), is one that should not be accessed by synching software. It now only uses the Documents folder for temporary files if neither of the above folders exist on the system.
• Fixed issue of low frame rate in Full Screen mode. This was due to a bug in the new code that lowers frame rate when the game is minimised. Note, however, that frame rate is, and always has been, capped at 60 fps in Full Screen mode, so it is almost always better to run the game in Windowed mode (not Framed Windowed mode). Non-framed Windowed mode is indistinguishable from Full Screen mode if the game resolution is set to match your screen resolution, but does not have a capped frame rate, so, depending on your system, will normally run at a higher frame rate. Note that when you change the screen mode or resolution in Options, the change does not take effect until you have quit the game and started it again.
• AI flank marches should now always advance on the turn they arrive.
• Fixed bug that could prevent flank march units from charging enemy within charge reach when they first arrive.
• Corrected position of Muslim Light Horse (Bow) and Indian Horse Archers on square. Note that the revised model had to be re-scaled so will look tiny in games saved with the previous version.
• Fixed issue whereby If you went into a historically-based campaign from a DLC you own immediately after attempting to set up a custom battle with armies from a DLC you don’t own, the campaign CREATE button would be greyed out.
• Fixed bug that awarded LUCKY and UNLUCKY achievements when unit triggering achievement was enemy unit.
• Fixed bug that could make text from flank march message in Baggage escort scenario overwrite the proper text for the popup showing the number of available generals, so that the game showed the flank march message for the same flank twice and did not show the generals message.
• Fixed Best-Equipped Druzhina textures in Time Warp modules.
• Hopefully fixed issue that could sometimes prevent the Force Selection UI from closing.
• Fixed bug that could leave theoretical unit facing (banner facing) incorrect after pass through by a unit that started facing away.

[SimonLancaster]

Some good tweaks. Veteran Muslim Spearmen needed to go up in price. Welsh Longbowmen much more cost effective at 39. Nice to try to do something with the Wagons. Are we ever going to see Wagons with archers inside? Didn't some of them use archers?

[rbodleyscott]

Some good tweaks. Veteran Muslim Spearmen needed to go up in price. Welsh Longbowmen much more cost effective at 39. Nice to try to do something with the Wagons. Are we ever going to see Wagons with archers inside? Didn't some of them use archers?

Crossbowmen and handgunners in War Wagons in a later DLC.

[edb1815]

Some good tweaks. Veteran Muslim Spearmen needed to go up in price. Welsh Longbowmen much more cost effective at 39. Nice to try to do something with the Wagons. Are we ever going to see Wagons with archers inside? Didn't some of them use archers?

Crossbowmen and handgunners in War Wagons in a later DLC.

Hussites being the most obvious.

I am patiently waiting for the 14th&15th century DLC; "We few, We happy few, we band of brothers", "Upon them, victory sits on our helms", "A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse"!

[CommanderPylos]

Since today's patch, my mounted light archers from the Cid's army in the regarding epic battle are pygmies mounting playmobil horses. Would it possible to fix it please ?

[Athos1660]

Since today's patch, my mounted light archers from the Cid's army in the regarding epic battle are pygmies mounting playmobil horses. Would it possible to fix it please ?

This is something that happens in games you start before a major patch.
Start a new game. It should be 'fixed'.

[rbodleyscott]

Since today's patch, my mounted light archers from the Cid's army in the regarding epic battle are pygmies mounting playmobil horses. Would it possible to fix it please ?

This was listed in the patch notes. It only affects saved games, they will be the correct size in new games.

[DanZanzibar]

After thinking on this for some time, I do have one key concern about the new ZoC rules: how much easier it will be to land flanking attacks on corner units. I have been considering two cases:

Case 1 - A battle line facing forward with a refused right flank that is pulled back perpendicular to the line, creating a 90 degree bend in the line. This is an historical formation and I would not want to see it's viability reduced.

Old Rules: By facing the refused flank on a diagonal forward and to the right, you can fairly safely secure the corner unit from being flanked. Yes, it can be piled up on, but that always seemed appropriate. For the enemy to flank that unit they would need to engage one whole side of the line (either left or right of the bend) from the outside in to get the combats turned the way they need to take away that corner unit's flank protection. That was because you HAD to go at the unit whose primary ZoC you were in.

New Rules: There are two new ways to get at this corner unit. (1) The unit behind the corner unit whose primary ZoC is covering the actual flank position of the corner unit can be attacked from it's secondary ZoC now. Done... no flank protection for the corner unit. (2) The corner unit can be attacked from it's left secondary ZoC, turning it one round later. This allows it to be flanked from a position that is directly in line with the main battle line.

(1)

1.jpg (66.39 KiB) Viewed 2013 times

(2)

2.jpg (56.41 KiB) Viewed 2013 times

Case 2 - A diagonal battle line that is all "filled in" (i.e. the right way).

Old Rules: There was no way to get a flanking attack in the middle of this line if all the units were facing perpendicularly away from the diagonal.

New Rules: See the picture below.

3.jpg (54.25 KiB) Viewed 2013 times

I do not think this is what was intended by the ZoC rule change. One way I can think to allow the described situations above to operate as they did before while still allowing the rule change to have the desired effect is to add an "If" to the new rule, as follows:

If a unit cannot charge the enemy unit whose primary ZoC it occupies, then it can now also charge an enemy unit in the square directly to its front if it is in that unit's secondary ZOC.

[SnuggleBunnies]

I am unable to view or open any links to view the pictures, so I unfortunately I have no idea what you're saying here.

EDIT: they just popped up. I mean, don't have a corner unit? Put the corner unit one square diagonally back, so it's a bit of a rounded edge, and you're good, yes?

[DanZanzibar]

I am unable to view or open any links to view the pictures, so I unfortunately I have no idea what you're saying here.

I have the pictures in there now... even if a couple of them are repeated at the end.

[DanZanzibar]

I am unable to view or open any links to view the pictures, so I unfortunately I have no idea what you're saying here.

EDIT: they just popped up. I mean, don't have a corner unit? Put the corner unit one square diagonally back, so it's a bit of a rounded edge, and you're good, yes?

Pulling that corner unit back to round the edge actually results in two corner units. They can each only be taken advantage of in one of the ways I mentioned but it doesn't solve the problem you have.

[SnuggleBunnies]

I am unable to view or open any links to view the pictures, so I unfortunately I have no idea what you're saying here.

EDIT: they just popped up. I mean, don't have a corner unit? Put the corner unit one square diagonally back, so it's a bit of a rounded edge, and you're good, yes?

Pulling that corner unit back to round the edge actually results in two corner units. They can each only be taken advantage of in one of the ways I mentioned but it doesn't solve the problem you have.

*shrug* I guess it just doesn't strike me as much of a problem, or at least as less of a problem than we had before, where you could zigzag your whole line to slow flanks, or zigzag two units toward each other to make the enemy unable to charge, or protect vulnerable Massed Archers just sitting in the front of the battle line by turning them 45 degrees and thus magically unable to be charged. With the new situation, you might want to engage the right end of your line to prevent just such a gradual breakdown of your position. We will wait and see what other say, but having played around with it in the beta I thought the new system a definite improvement...

[DanZanzibar]

I get what you're saying. What I suggested as a modification of the rule change would still prevent the delaying of charges because of crossed ZoC (I think this is the zig zagging you're talking about but maybe you're talking about more than that?) but would otherwise not change the game. I like the idea of many of the other implications of the rule change but I really don't like making it easier to get those flanking attacks in the middle of a continuous line, even if it is a bend.

[MVP7]

New Rules: See the picture below.

3.jpg

I do not think this is what was intended by the ZoC rule change. One way I can think to allow the described situations above to operate as they did before while still allowing the rule change to have the desired effect is to add an "If" to the new rule, as follows:

If a unit cannot charge the enemy unit whose primary ZoC it occupies, then it can now also charge an enemy unit in the square directly to its front if it is in that unit's secondary ZOC.

The situation in the 2nd picture isn't that easy to produce. Assuming they are infantry, the diagonal red units in the example couldn't get into that position and attack those black units in the same turn. The black units would either have to move into that position on their own turn, or they would get a full turn to react and charge the diagonally facing red units in their front. Making the ability to charge dependent on not being able to charge the primary ZoC projecting units would actually make the situation worse for the black units as they couldn't directly attack the units in their front on their own turn since the diagonally facing units would likely also be an option. The suggested change would practically result in the same exploits as we had before the update but with some even more gamey moves and turns involved to ensure you can't charge the primary-ZoC projecting "wrong" unit.

At this scale, I can't think of any historical deployment where "diagonally facing" side units would be able to protect the corner or a larger formation from flankers. The situation in 1st picture is one of the weird exploits of old ZoC rules that the update purposely prevents. Corners are typically the most vulnerable part of any formation or deployment so if you for some reason go with a deployment like that then the relatively high risk seems appropriate. If the black units were in a big wedge deployment the units on the sides of the wedge would indeed be able to cover the unit in front of them from flankers unless the whole formation is flanked.

I get what you're saying. What I suggested as a modification of the rule change would still prevent the delaying of charges because of crossed ZoC (I think this is the zig zagging you're talking about but maybe you're talking about more than that?) but would otherwise not change the game. I like the idea of many of the other implications of the rule change but I really don't like making it easier to get those flanking attacks in the middle of a continuous line, even if it is a bend.

I wouldn't think of the flanking in the middle of a front as literal flanking attack but rather as exploitation of a weakness that has formed in the enemy line. Even with the changes a "flanking" attack in middle of a line will only occur if the cohesion of the line has been disrupted severely, or if the victim failed to counter the flanking attempt with reserves. In both cases the severe end results seems reasonable.

[DanZanzibar]

The situation in the 2nd picture isn't that easy to produce.

While I disagree with some of the latter points you made I don't want to get off the topic, which is trying to look at possible unintended consequences of the rule change. This goes a long way to ease my mind about it - thanks. I had envisioned units that might have moved one square forward and then turned as they attacked but this isn't allowed because one thing really hasn't changed: as soon as two units have their primary zones on each other, they're locked into only attacking each other (or another unit with their primary ZoC on them) and can't even turn.

Okay that's great as scenario (2) was the one I was most concerned about. I'm fine that (1) has changed with the rules now, there's still things you can do guard that corner... just a little differently than before. As for the diagonal line thing - I knew that was never really a major concern as, again, it's hard to find yourself in that position without having something you could have done about it.

Really I'm happy about this because I saw a lot of little improvements with the rule change that do remove "gamey" elements (never really a fair word to use when criticizing a game, but well, when in Rome). Looking forward to this making it to Ancients!